[anjan_c2007]

I am in possession of a new book entitled "In Search of the Change Maestros" by Pritam Singh and Asha Bhandarkar.
The book lists biographies of corporate czars of the present generation, who include Kumarmangalam Birla, M. Damodaran, Sajjan Jindal, K.V. Kamath, S. B. Mittal, Anil Manibhai Naik and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
Overall, the book gives an insight into the struggle that these czars underwent and still go through, their leadership qualities, their penchant rising to newer heights.Their good, very good and excellent qualities are all described and illustrated.
The flip side, which is regarding their drawbacks are nowhere to be seen. After all, all human being have drawbacks, some many and some fewer.
It looks like a Mutual Admiration Society at work by the authors and their subjects.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Have you read Paths of Glory by Jeffery Archer? It is about the first/second attempt at Everest by George Mallory.

I found it a total waste of money (though it was bought on a footpath), very unlike Jeffery Archer, indeed, but in a wrong way.

Many years back, when I was a small kid lugging my schoolbag we had a book on the various Everest campaigns. Must have been a translation, though I forgot the name of the book as well as the author (the author was a Captain someone). It had described Mallory's attempt and his subsequent vanishing in a much more realistic way. I didn't like the way it was all portrayed in Archer's book at all. Sounded to me like a typical goody goody Bollywood movie.

Sorry, but that was my impression.

[Orko]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Then I am sure that you will enjoy reading "Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination" by Robert MacFarlane. It is not about one particular ascent/expedition, but an account of how mountaineering evolved and also covers themes like geology, glaciers, human beings' fascination with altitude, fear & adrenaline.

I second that recommendation. Also, Walt Unsworth's "Everest" is a fascinating history of the mountain and the various expeditions with many wonderful anecdotes.
Also, while we're on the subject of mountains, Eric Newby's "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" is an extremely entertaining read of a summit climb undertaken by a total amateur which is, of course, the author himself.
Other worthwhile reads include Bill Aitken's "The Nanda Devi Affair", Maurice Herzog's "Annapurna" and Nick Heil's "The Dark Summit", the last one being in the mould of "Into Thin Air" except that it describes the 2006 tragedy on Everest.

[JoeMichael]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Have you read Paths of Glory by Jeffery Archer? It is about the first/second attempt at Everest by George Mallory.

Its not exactly in Archer genre , But nonetheless a good read. Its Inpirational , gripping , Sentimental....
Pure fiction lovers mayn't like it.

Just started with "The Secret Crown" - Chris Kuzneski. Typical Kuzneski, Fast paced , page turner.

[manolin]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Have you read Paths of Glory by Jeffery Archer? It is about the first/second attempt at Everest by George Mallory.

Originally Posted by carboy

I read it a couple of years back when it newly released. Very inspiring book based on a true story - in some ways it's not a typical Jeffrey Archer

Originally Posted by honeybee

Many years back, when I was a small kid lugging my schoolbag we had a book on the various Everest campaigns. Must have been a translation, though I forgot the name of the book as well as the author (the author was a Captain someone). It had described Mallory's attempt and his subsequent vanishing in a much more realistic way. I didn't like the way it was all portrayed in Archer's book at all. Sounded to me like a typical goody goody Bollywood movie.

In a way my experience with Jeffrey Archer's book was very similar to honeybee's. I had read previously some other account of Mallory's climb. I couldn't remember exactly which book it was, but the way the first book had gripped me, Jeffrey could'nt, and I was aware of it throughout while reading the book.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Then I am sure that you will enjoy reading "Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination" by Robert MacFarlane.

Originally Posted by Orko

I second that recommendation. Also, Walt Unsworth's "Everest" is a fascinating history of the mountain and the various expeditions with many wonderful anecdotes.
Also, while we're on the subject of mountains, Eric Newby's "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" is an extremely entertaining read of a summit climb undertaken by a total amateur which is, of course, the author himself.
Other worthwhile reads include Bill Aitken's "The Nanda Devi Affair", Maurice Herzog's "Annapurna" and Nick Heil's "The Dark Summit", the last one being in the mould of "Into Thin Air" except that it describes the 2006 tragedy on Everest.

Thanks! Have Flipkarted MacFarlane. Read some reviews after your recommendations. Seems very good. Maurice Herzog's Annapurna has just been bought by a friend. I am in line. Had read a very curious review on Amazon a couple of days back which changed the entire way in which I looked at Herzog's acheivements

Thanks for the other recommendations; will line them up for the next salary.

Originally Posted by theexperthand

A recent post by @DOT made me revisit two works by Desmond Bagley. Re read Fly away and Windfall - superb books. Thinking of staring either one more Bagley or may be one book by Louis L'amour.

I am/was a huge Louis LÁmour fan. Want to order the entire Sachett series as a set. No one seems to keep them all together. Any ideas?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by manolin

I am/was a huge Louis LÁmour fan. Want to order the entire Sachett series as a set. No one seems to keep them all together. Any ideas?

I have never seen a full collection of Sackett series any were - best bet would be to order them from the Louis Lamour web site.

[Orko]

Originally Posted by manolin

Maurice Herzog's Annapurna has just been bought by a friend. I am in line. Had read a very curious review on Amazon a couple of days back which changed the entire way in which I looked at Herzog's achievements

Wow, never knew that. I'm off to hunt for Lachenal's journals. Thanks for the heads-up.

Also, out of curiosity: Which Nepal trek are you planning?

[noidea]

Originally Posted by manolin

I am/was a huge Louis LÁmour fan. Want to order the entire Sachett series as a set. No one seems to keep them all together. Any ideas?

Originally Posted by theexperthand

I have never seen a full collection of Sackett series any were - best bet would be to order them from the Louis Lamour web site.

I have a fairly good collection of L Amour's.
From torrent.
PM me your e-mails

[anjan_c2007]

A wonderful book first published in 2007 entitled "Memories Come Alive-An Autobiography" by Manna Dey (Penguin Books) the famed octogenarian singer, is what I am reading now.
I chose the book as Manna Dey is one of my favorite singers. It also chronicles the decades since the 1940's in the film industry, especially in the world of music.He has beautifully described his relationships with his then seniors, contemporaries and now juniors too.

[Samurai]

Is there an age to start reading books. I often wonder...

I started reading Kannada novels at 7 and switched to English only at 15. Initially, I didn't understand most of the emotions and situations, eventually I started understanding. But most people used to freak out when they used to see me read novels before hitting my teens.

When I was 13, we lived right above a well-known lady novelist's house as tenants. Won't tell her name, but Dr.Rajkumar did his famous come back movie based on her novel much later. Anyway, I used to frequent their house often. Her daughter was doing PhD in Kannada literature then and the mother-daughter were having a debate on a serious book. I overheard for a while and then poked my nose...

Me: Ah, I have read that book many times.
Daughter (D): You are deaf, I said Gramayana, not Ramayana.
Me: No, I mean Gramayana.
Author (A): No dear, that is a very serious literary kind of book. Not kids stuff.
Me: No, I mean Gramayana written by Rao Bahadur. About 800 pages long.
D & A: What!! Ok, you got the author's name and pages about right. But you couldn't have read it. You are just 13.
Me: I read it first at 9, and then read it every summer because that is the one of few book available at my granny's place. I have read it at least 4-5 times.
D: Naaahhh! May be you just remember the title and author.
Me: Ok, how about the characters. Dada the wrestler, Balacharaya, Padadappa, etc.. <quoted some scenes too>
D & A: <stunned> My god, you have indeed read that book!
Me:

Another time, the author lady had given the autobiography of Kuvempu to my mom to read since she knew my mom was an avid reader. Couple days later:

Author: So, have you started reading the book.
Mom: No, not yet. But my son already finished it.
Author: What? That is an autobiography, not a story book.
Mom: Makes no difference to him.
Author: Oh yeah, I forgot. He is the kid who read Gramayana.

By 15 I had read many of the works of the greats of Kannada literature like Kuvempu, Shivarama Karantha, Yeshawantha Chittala, Masti Venkatesh Iyer, T K Rama rao, Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, etc. Also read every Kannada translation of Yendamoori Virendranath' telugu novels. Finally, I used to read every novel serials on weekly magazines Taranga and Sudha.

Around that time some distant aunt heard I read books. So she presented me a famous five and hardy boys. My first set of English books. Sheesh.... it was kids stuff! So I didn't touch English books for a while, until I came across Alistair MacLean's The Last Frontier in my friend's house, I was hooked. That was followed by James Clavell's Shogun, which just blew my mind. After that there was no looking back, I have been reading ever since.

[AdityaLN]

Finished reading The Secret of The Nagas by Amish. It was a page turner. It's a sequel to The Immortals Of Meluha. Now waiting for the last part of the Trilogy.

Now I am reading, A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré.
Trying to finish Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Gregory Robert's Shantaram for a while now (actually a long time) but I just can't make myself to read it.

Next in line is S L Bhyrappa's Parva which is based on Mahabharata.

My Top five/Six books (not in any particular order).

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged
Joseph Heller's Catch 22
Jeffrey Archer's Honor among thieves
Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs
Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace
Henry Kissinger's Diplomacy

[manolin]

Originally Posted by AdityaLN

Finished reading The Secret of The Nagas by Amish. It was a page turner. It's a sequel to The Immortals Of Meluha. Now waiting for the last part of the Trilogy.

Now I am reading, A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré.
Trying to finish Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Gregory Robert's Shantaram for a while now (actually a long time) but I just can't make myself to read it.

Next in line is S L Bhyrappa's Parva which is based on Mahabharata.

My Top five/Six books (not in any particular order).

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged
Joseph Heller's Catch 22,
Jeffrey Archer's Honor among thieves
Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs
Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace
Henry Kissinger's Diplomacy

I didn't like the immortals of meluha series. Indian fantasy so far has been dissappointing except for samit basu's first book the simoqin prophecies.

I have book suggestion if you like le carre. Thinker Tailor Soldier Spy. specially because a very goodlooking movie adaptation seems to be on its way.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube

[Jeeper1941]

My top books at the moment are:

1. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
2. The Walking Dead Vol. 13, by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard (well, this is a comic/graphic novel, but still I love it!)
3. Seal Team Six, by Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin
4. The Hunger Games, by Suzzane Collins (can't wait for the movie to come out in 2012)
5. Death by Black Hole and other Cosmic Quandaries, by Neil deGrasse Tyson (the best astronomy book I've read, by far!)
   

Right now however, I am reading a textbook - Vol. 1 of Harrison's Internal Medicine.

[AdityaLN]

Originally Posted by manolin

I didn't like the immortals of meluha series. Indian fantasy so far has been dissappointing except for samit basu's first book the simoqin prophecies.

I have book suggestion if you like le carre. Thinker Tailor Soldier Spy. specially because a very goodlooking movie adaptation seems to be on its way.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube

Oh yeah!! I love lee carre, I know about Thinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The Karla series is next. Just waiting for the movie, but I am not sure if I want to watch the movie first or read the book. I have been trying to get my hands on the BBC mini series which is also very good but haven't found it yet. I have read a few already,.The Tailor of Panama (liked the movie, but the book was better), The Night Manager and The Constant Gardener.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by AdityaLN

Finished reading The Secret of The Nagas by Amish. It was a page turner. It's a sequel to The Immortals Of Meluha. Now waiting for the last part of the Trilogy.

Originally Posted by manolin

I didn't like the immortals of meluha series. Indian fantasy so far has been dissappointing except for samit basu's first book the simoqin prophecies.

While I am roaming at Landmark, saw this stack of the Shiva Trilogy series.
While reading the cover, I was laughing there for quite some time. (Folks were obviously thinking whats wrong with this guy!)

But still curiosity killed the cat! Went ahead and bought both the books to see
how this cross between Lord of the Rings and DaVinci Code sounded like ?
(Pardon my comparison. No criticism intended) Yes the series is a page turner no doubt with all the elements of history/mythology thrown in.
But still this genre of writing needs to evolve in India.


On a totally different note, if folks want to catalogue their personal collection, I found this software very useful:
GC Star : http://www.gcstar.org/